Chad Johnson Not Worth The Headache
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By DERON SNYDER
There is a humongous difference between treating people equally and treating people fairly. We see it all the time in sports, politics, entertainment and business, where star performers are given much more slack than mediocre contributors.
I never heard anyone put it more bluntly than former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, who openly admitted that he treated everyone differently. If a fourth-string rookie guard fell asleep in a team meeting, he’d be cut on the spot and sent packing. If Emmitt Smith dozed off in a team meeting, he’d be nudged gently and given a cup of coffee.
Equal? No. Fair? Absolutely. It makes perfect sense, yet many folks seem surprised or outraged when the difference is acknowledged: Exceptional workers earn more exceptions because they’re more valuable and harder to replace.
Chad Johnson should have remembered that simple truth when he signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins. Aging wide receivers coming off pitiful, 15-catch seasons with New England have little leeway and less latitude when trouble finds them. That’s the primary reason Miami wasted no time in cutting Johnson after his weekend arrest for allegedly head-butting his wife.
